The phrase "the meaning of life" for many seems a quaint notion fit for a satirical mauling by Monty Python or Douglas Adams. But in this spirited Very Short Introduction, famed critic Terry Eagleton takes a serious if often amusing look at ...
The phrase "the meaning of life" for many seems a quaint notion fit for a satirical mauling by Monty Python or Douglas Adams. But in this spirited Very Short Introduction, famed critic Terry Eagleton takes a serious if often amusing look at the question and offers his surprising answer.
Eagleton first examines how centuries of thinkers and writers--from Marx and Schopenhauer to Shakespeare, Sartre, and Beckett--have responded to the ultimate question of meaning. He suggests, however, that it is only in modern times that the question has become problematic. But instead of tackling
it head-on, many of us cope with the feelings of meaninglessness in our lives by filling them with everything from football to sex, Kabbala, Scientology, "New Age softheadedness," or fundamentalism. On the other hand, Eagleton notes, that many educated people believe that life is an evolutionary accident
that has no intrinsic meaning. If our lives have meaning, it is something with which we manage to invest them, not something with which they come ready-made. Eagleton probes this view of meaning as a kind of private enterprise and concludes that it fails to hold up. He argues instead that the
meaning of life is not a solution to a problem, but a matter of living in a certain way. It is not metaphysical but ethical. It is not something separate from life, but what makes it worth living--that is, a certain quality, depth, abundance, and intensity of life.
Here then is a brilliant discussion of the problem of meaning by a leading thinker, who writes with a light and often irreverent touch, but with a very serious end in mind.
Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offers an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds
of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.
We are using technologies like Cookies and process personal data like the IP-address or browser information in order to personalize the content that you see. This helps us to show you more relevant products and improves your experience. we are herewith asking for your permission to use this technologies.
4 (0 rating by our users)
